Carlos Alcaraz successfully retained his Wimbledon men’s singles title, decimating Novak Djokovic, one of the greats of the game, in the final. Alcaraz, who had beaten Djokovic in the same final last year as well, but over 5 sets, secured a much more comfortable win this time, winning in 3 straight sets. After the win, the Spaniard said he does not know his limit but believed the Serb is still “Superman”. But, one area where Alcaraz does know his limits is dancing, and that was visible after the game.
As the Wimbledon tradition goes, the winner of the men’s singles championship dances with the winner of the women’s singles championship. When Alcaraz was informed about this on the court, he was visibly nervous, as he isn’t as confident of his dancing skills as he is of his abilities on the court.
The end result, however, was ad decent one as Alcaraz was seen dancing with Barbora Krejcikova.
Genios absolutos.
Carlos Alcaraz y Barbora Krejcikova bailando en la cena de ganadores de Wimbledon. pic.twitter.com/4n4CDOpm4Y
— Manuel Sanchez (@ManuSanchezGom) July 14, 2024
“I wish I could dance better, let’s see tonight, ha”, Alcaraz said on court when he was informed of the traditional dance with the women’s singles champion.
The Spanish third seed beat the seven-time champion 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4), collecting the fourth Grand Slam of his young career and underlining a changing of the guard. Alcaraz, 21, who has won three of the past five majors, said he wanted to enjoy his “amazing journey so far” rather than look too far into the future.
“I really want to keep going, to keep improving, to keep growing up, try to keep winning. That’s all that matters for me right now,” he said.
“I don’t know what is my limit. I don’t want to think about it. I just want to keep enjoying my moment, just to keep dreaming.
“So let’s see if at the end of my career it’s going to be 25, 30, 15, four (Slams). I don’t know. All I want to say is I want to keep enjoying and let’s see what the future brings to me.”
Despite his staggering success at such a tender age, Alcaraz said it was more important where he finished.
“I want to sit at the same table as the big guys,” he said. “That’s my main goal. That’s my dream right now.”
Djokovic was aiming for record 25th major but struggled to get going against a man 16 years his junior on Centre Court, and Alcaraz said he took advantage of the veteran’s mistakes.
Alcaraz described the Serb as “Superman” before the tournament started and said he had no reason to change his mind, especially as Djokovic had surgery on his knee just last month.
“I’m still believing that Novak is Superman because what he has done this tournament with a surgery just a few weeks before the tournament began,” he said.
“It is amazing. It is unbelievable. Honestly, as I said on court, I was talking to my team that the work that Novak has done has been unbelievable.”
Alcaraz and world number one Jannik Sinner, 22, have won all three Grand Slams this year, suggesting a change in the balance of power at the top of the game.
The Spaniard said it was positive to have new champions after Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer dominated for so long.
“I think it is good for tennis to have new faces winning the big things and fighting for the big tournaments,” he said.
“I’m really glad to have him (Sinner) there. As I said many times, we have a really good rivalry, as young players that are coming up, fighting for these things as well. I think it’s great for the sport, for tennis and I think for the players.”
With AFP Inputs
Topics mentioned in this article
Barbora Krejcikova
Wimbledon 2024
Tennis
